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The Skinny: Hurricanes 6, Islanders 4

by
Eric Hornick
/ New York Islanders

Game 12

Carolina 6, Isles 4

Jiri Tlusty scored two goals and added two assists, all in the third period as the Carolina Hurricanes scored four goals in the third period to hand the Islanders their fifth straight loss, defeating the Islanders 6-4 before 9,622 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Skinny: The Isles have scored nine goals in their five game losing streak and have scored only 12 goals in their seven regulation defeats … John Tavares now has 14 points in the last five games against Carolina (7-7-14) … Mark Streit played his 250th game as an Islander … Two of Tim Wallace’s four career goals have come against the Isles … The Isles needed only 3:44 of power play time to score their four power play goals ... It was Tlusty’s first career four-point game; he had only three points in the Canes’ first ten games … Alex Semin’s goal was deflected in off of Islander defenseman Travis Hamonic; it was Semin’s 200th NHL goal … The Isles have been outscored 22-13 in the third period; no other team has allowed more than sixteen third period goals … The Isles had gone 22-0-3 in their last 25 games when scoring at least four goals … Eric Staal extended his point streak to nine games (8-6-14) … John Tavares has seven goals in the last eight games; he is now working on his second three-game goal scoring streak of the season … The Isles have allowed four empty-net goals in the last five games.

Potent Power Play

All four Islander goals came on the power play (after the Isles went 0-22 in the previous four games). It’s the first time since February 14, 2008 (at Toronto) that the Isles have scored four power play goals in a game and the first time since October 14, 1978 (a 10-7 loss at Toronto) that the Isles have scored four power play goals but lost the game. Both Los Angeles (in a shootout) and Columbus (in regulation) lost games last season in which they scored four times on the power play. The Isles needed only 3:44 of power play time to score their power play goals in each of their first four attempts; Carolina had killed 11 straight in their prior three games. With the 4-for-5 performance on the power play, the Isles should move back into the top-5 teams in the league on the power play.

As Seen on MSG+

The Isles allowed four goals in the third period. It’s the 21st consecutive game that the Isles have allowed a goal in the third period, which is a franchise record.

The Shots:

Isles 12-12-4=28

Hurricanes 6-14-11=31

Home and Road

The Islanders are 4-7-1 overall, 1-5-0 at home and 3-2-1 on the road. It’s the first time this season that the Isles have fallen three games under .500. The Isles have only two points in their first six home games, matching the club record set in 1972-73, and equaled in 1989-90 and 2008-09.

The Hurricanes are 6-4-1 overall, 2-2-0 at home and 4-2-1 on the road. With the win, Carolina moves into first place in the Southeast Division, one point ahead of Tampa Bay.

In the Nets

Rick DiPietro made his first start at the Coliseum since November 23, 2011 and stopped 25 shots, but fell to 0-2-0 on the season (4.62 GAA, .842 save percentage). DiPietro is 0-8-1 in his last 10 appearances (one no-decision) against the Canes.

Cam Ward made 24 saves as he improves to 4-3-1 on the season and 15-3-3 against the Islanders. It’s the fifth time in his career that he has allowed four power play goals; he is 2-1-1 with one no-decision in those five games.

Power Plays

The Isles went 4-for-5 on the power play while the Hurricanes were 0-for-3. It’s the first time since April 8, 2006 that the Isles have scored four times on the power play at the Coliseum, and fell just one goal shy of the club record for power play goals, which was set on January 24, 1981 (the night Mike Bossy reached 50 in 50) vs. Quebec.

They Said It

Eric Staal: "We knew we owed them for last season. They had our number. We talked about that before the game. We wanted to make sure we responded."

They Tweeted It

@TimoSeppa: “Takeaways from today's game: don't take minors vs Isles (Visnovsky makes them even better). Not many teams have better forwards than Canes.

The Coach

"We're the type of team that needs all 20 guys going, and we didn't have that tonight. I thought some guys were soft … We've got to find a way 5-on-5 to generate some offense. Our power play was good, but it's not going to be there every day."

Head of the Class

John Tavares has 217 career points; he is 57 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player in that draft is anywhere close. Tavares also has more goals and more assists than any other player in that draft.

Friends, Friends, Friends

Matt Moulson has six goals this season; John Tavares has earned an assist on three of them. Tavares has now been on-ice for 66 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 43 of them, dating back to a Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa Bay.

109 NHL Goals

Moulson has 109 career goals (103 as an Islander). While 262 players were selected before the Penguins chose Moulson in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, only 17 have more goals.

Leading Ice Men

Marc Streit led the Isles for the fourth straight game, playing 27:08. Joni Pitkanen led Carolina with 22:46.

In the Circle

The Islanders won 34 draws; the Hurricanes won 31. Keith Aucoin won 4-of-6 for the Isles; Eric Staal won 13-of-24 for Carolina.

Heavy Hitters

The Islanders out-hit Carolina 14-13; Colin MacDonald led the Isles with three hits. There were no fights, leaving the season total at six.

Giveaway Night

The Islanders were charged with 19 giveaways; Carolina was assessed only one.

Even Woes

The Isles were outscored 5-0 at even-strength, and with the empty net goal, the Isles were a combined minus-31. Six different Isles were minus-3; Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin were the only Islanders not to have a minus.

The Islanders have been outscored 33-22 in 5-on-5 play this season.

Below .500

The Islanders fall one game below .500 all-time (1351-1352-433 in 3,136 games). The Isles were also one game below .500 twice last season. Prior to that, they had not been below .500 since they were 177-178-83 before a victory on January 16, 1978.

4 Not Enough

The Isles are 4-1-1 when scoring at least four goals and 0-6-0 when scoring two or less. (The Isles have not scored exactly three goals in any game so far this season.)

A Tale of Two Months

The Isles were 4-2-1 in January, outscoring their opponents 27-23. The Isles are 0-5-0 in February, and have been outscored 20-9.

Tough Stretch at Home

The Isles are in the midst of a stretch in which they will play nine consecutive games in the New York area (six at home, two at MSG, and one in New Jersey). The Isles are 1-5-0 so far in this stretch, with one game at MSG, and home games against New Jersey and Philadelphia remaining.

Ironmen

Matt Moulson, the Isles’ reigning ironman, has played in all 258 games since joining the team. Moulson’s streak is the longest for an Islander in the Post-Cup era and the fourth-longest in club history. Billy Harris played in the first 576 games in Islander history; that figure still stands as the club record.

Three other Islanders (Frans Nielsen, John Tavares and Mark Streit) also played in every game last season. Tavares extended his streak to 171 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 94.

Here's a number that Howie Rose likes to refer to from time-to-time. A scoring change deprived Lubomir Visnovsky from becoming the fifth player to score his first goal as an Islander this season, joining Brad Boyes, Keith Aucoin, Casey Cizikas and Colin MacDonald. 325 players in Islander history have scored a goal.

Scoring

The Isles have scored 20 goals in their four wins (5.00 per game) and 16 goals in their other eight games (0-7-1; 2.00 per game). In their seven regulation losses, the Isles have scored 12 goals (1.71 per game).

The Hurricanes lead the season series one game to zero (two points to none). The teams will meet again on February 24 at the Coliseum and April 23 in Carolina.

Happy Anniversary

Two years ago today (2-11-11): In a fight-filled game, the Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 9-3 at the Coliseum. John Tavares had four points but it was rookie Travis Hamonic who recorded the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick.” The Isles were assessed a club record 183 penalty minutes, and the 346 penalty minutes on both teams combined were also a club record.

All-time, the Isles are 11-4-2 on this date, including 6-3-1 in the last ten.

On The Farm

Bridgeport is 20-19-2-3. The Sound Tigers’ games on both Saturday and Sunday were postponed due to the blizzard. Bridgeport will resume their season on Tuesday against Springfield.

Up Next

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14 ISLANDERS AT RANGERS (7:00PM)

[MSG+ (Pre-game show at 6:30PM), WRHU (88.7FM)]

The Islanders return to Madison Square Garden for the second time in eight days as they face the Rangers for the second time this season. The Isles have lost eight straight games (0-7-1) at MSG for the first time in their history, including a 4-1 defeat last Thursday.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in “The Skinny” has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter.